What Jobs Hire at 16 in California: Permits, Hours, and Pay

If you are 16 in California, you can work in retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, grocery chains, coffee shops, amusement parks, bowling alleys, and as a lifeguard at community pools or state parks. These are the jobs that hire at 16 in California most reliably, and all of them share the same ground rules: you need a school-issued work permit before your first shift, your hours are capped by state law, and certain dangerous jobs are off-limits until you turn 18.

Common Jobs That Hire at 16

Retail is one of the largest employers of 16-year-olds. Grocery chains, clothing stores, and department stores hire teens as cashiers, stock clerks, and baggers.

Food service is the other big one. Fast-food restaurants, casual dining spots, and coffee shops bring on hosts, busers, kitchen prep assistants, and barista trainees, and the scheduling tends to flex around school.

Recreational businesses hire year-round and seasonally. Movie theaters, amusement parks, bowling alleys, and ice cream shops put teens to work as ticket sellers, concession attendants, and ride operators under direct supervision.

Lifeguarding is open to 16-year-olds too. Community pools hire at this age, and California State Parks hires state lifeguards who are at least 16, hold a valid California driver license by the date of appointment, and complete the required safety training.¹

Getting Your Work Permit

Every minor in California must have a valid work permit before starting a paid job. The process starts with the “Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit,” known as CDE Form B1-1.² It moves through three hands before you can clock in.

Pick up the B1-1 form from your school’s counseling office or administrative desk. Some schools post it online.
Once you have a job offer, the hiring manager fills in the section describing your duties, work location, and proposed schedule.
A parent or legal guardian signs to authorize you to work.
A school official reviews your grades and attendance, then the school district issues the actual permit on a separate document called the B1-4.²

The permit can be issued by the school district superintendent, the chief executive officer of a charter school you attend, or a credentialed staff member authorized by the superintendent in writing.³ Your employer keeps the B1-4 on file at the worksite, where labor inspectors can ask to see it at any time.

The permit is not permanent. If your GPA falls below 2.0, you start failing a class, or your attendance slips, the school can revoke it. The system exists so that a job does not pull your schoolwork down with it.

Entertainment work follows a different path. If you want to work in film, television, or commercials, you need an entertainment work permit from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement rather than your school, and at 16 you must apply for the six-month version — you are not eligible for the shorter 10-day permit younger children can use.⁴

Hours You Can Work on School and Non-School Days

California caps both how long you can work and when. The limits tighten during the school year and loosen on breaks.

On any school day, you can work up to four hours. On non-school days — weekends, holidays, and vacation days — the limit is eight. The weekly ceiling is 48 hours year-round.⁵ In a typical school week, the four-hour cap on school days means you can realistically work about 36 hours: five days at four, plus two weekend days at eight.

During the school year, you cannot start before 5:00 a.m. or work past 10:00 p.m. on any evening before a school day. On evenings before non-school days, usually Friday and Saturday, you can work until 12:30 a.m.⁵

Federal law does not add its own hour limits for workers who are 16 or older, so California’s rules are the ones your employer must follow.⁶

Break rules apply the same way they do for adults. If you work more than five hours in a day, you get a 30-minute unpaid meal break before your fifth hour ends. If you work more than four hours, you get a paid 10-minute rest break. Your employer cannot ask you to skip them.

Jobs You Cannot Take at 16

Both California and federal law bar minors from occupations treated as too dangerous. California Labor Code Section 1308 prohibits any work that is injurious to a minor’s health or dangerous to life or limb, and federal law adds 17 specific Hazardous Occupation Orders that apply to everyone under 18.⁷ When the two sets of rules differ, the stricter one wins.

At 16, you cannot take jobs that involve:

Manufacturing or storing explosives
Driving a motor vehicle on the job or riding as an outside helper on a delivery vehicle; a narrow driving exception exists but only for workers who are at least 17⁸
Coal mining or other mining operations
Logging, sawmill work, forestry services, timber management, or fire fighting
Operating power-driven woodworking machines, including industrial saws
Exposure to radioactive substances
Operating forklifts, cranes, and similar hoisting equipment
Operating power-driven metal-forming, punching, or shearing machines
Meatpacking, poultry processing, or using power-driven meat slicers
Operating power-driven commercial bakery equipment
Operating paper-products machines, industrial balers, or compactors
Running circular saws, band saws, chain saws, or wood chippers
Wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking
All work on or about a roof
Trenching, tunneling, and other excavation

A few of these have narrow exceptions for student-learner or apprenticeship programs, but they require written agreements between the school and the employer.

What You’ll Be Paid

California does not have a lower youth minimum wage. As of January 1, 2026, the state minimum wage is $16.90 per hour for all employers, regardless of the worker’s age.⁹ The federal minimum wage is still $7.25 per hour, but California’s higher rate controls.¹⁰

Being 16 does not exempt you from taxes. Your paycheck from a corporation, restaurant chain, retail store, or any employer other than your own parents’ sole proprietorship will show deductions for federal income tax, Social Security at 6.2%, and Medicare at 1.45%. One narrow exception: if you work in your parent’s sole proprietorship or a partnership where both partners are your parents, your wages are not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes while you are under 18.¹¹

Many teens earning a modest amount end up owing little or no federal income tax after filing, but you should still file a return each year to claim any refund you are owed.

If Your Employer Breaks the Rules

California splits child labor violations into two tiers. A first or second violation of the hour or scheduling rules under Section 1391 is a Class B violation, carrying a civil penalty of $500 to $1,000. A third violation, or any violation involving hazardous conditions, imminent danger, or employing a minor without a permit, is a Class A violation with penalties of $5,000 to $10,000.¹² Hour-limit violations are also charged as misdemeanors, with higher fines and possible jail time for willful conduct.⁵

Federal penalties are steeper. An employer who violates FLSA child labor rules faces a civil penalty of up to $16,035 per affected employee, rising to $72,876 if the violation causes the death or serious injury of a worker under 18, and those amounts can double for repeated or willful violations.¹³ If you believe your employer is breaking the rules, you can file a complaint with California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, both of which can investigate and inspect workplaces.

1
California State Parks. Become a CA State Lifeguard
2
California Department of Education. Work Permits for Students – Work Experience Education (WEE)
3
California Legislative Information. California Education Code 49110
4
California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Procedures for Obtaining an Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
5
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Division 2 Part 4 Chapter 3 Section 1391
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Hazardous Occupations – FLSA – Child Labor Rules
8
eCFR. Subpart E – Occupations Particularly Hazardous for the Employment of Minors Between 16 and 18 Years of Age
9
California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Minimum Wage
10
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
11
Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees
12
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 1288
13
eCFR. Part 579 Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties